There are a variety of abrasive particles (e.g., diamond particles, cubic boron nitride particles, fused abrasive particles (including fused alumina, heat treated fused alumina, fused alumina zirconia, and the like), and sintered, ceramic abrasive particles (including sol-gel-derived abrasive particles)) known in the art. Features such as hardness, friability, crush strength, sharpness, size, and other characteristics of the abrasive particles used can have an influence on the abrasive performance of a particular abrasive article in particular abrading applications. In some abrading applications, the abrasive particles are incorporated into abrasive products (including bonded abrasives, coated abrasives, and nonwoven abrasives).
Many different types of abrasive articles are available. These include: (1) coated abrasive articles, in which a binder make coat bonds the abrasive particles to a backing material; (2) lapping coated abrasive articles, in which the abrasive particles are dispersed in a binder to form an abrasive composite, which is bonded to a backing to form an abrasive article; (3) three-dimensional shaped composite abrasive articles, in which the abrasive particles typically are dispersed in a binder to form a plurality of abrasive composites, which are bonded to a backing to form an abrasive article; (4) bonded abrasive articles, in which the binder bonds the particles together to form a shaped mass, e.g., a grinding wheel or brush; and (5) nonwoven abrasive articles, in which the binder bonds the abrasive particles onto the fibers of a nonwoven fibrous substrate in either a make coat or dispersed format.